Chapter 165: The Reason Behind Lydia’s Power Malfunctions

Liam and Lydia finally arrived in front of James’s office.

The door was already open.

From the hallway, they could see the scientist in his white lab coat sitting in front of his computer, completely focused on his work. Several papers were scattered across his desk, and a few documents were open on the screen.

Liam stopped at the entrance.

Even though the door was open, he raised a hand and knocked softly.

"Knock, knock."

James raised his head.

"Sub-Captain Liam?"

The man smiled when he recognized him.

"Come in."

Liam entered alongside Lydia.

"Hello, Instructor James."

"Hello, Liam. Lydia."

James adjusted himself in his chair.

"I’m glad to see you made it back from your squad’s mission."

Liam smiled.

"We’re happy to be back too."

James let out a small laugh.

"Then I suppose you survived that strange dungeon and have some good information for me."

"Yes."

James pointed at Liam.

"How did it go?"

Liam exchanged a glance with Lydia.

James continued speaking.

"By the way, you two were the first to return. The other sub-captains and their squads haven’t returned from their respective raids into the other strange dungeons yet."

"I see."

Liam raised the folder he was carrying under his arm.

"That’s precisely why we’re here."

James’s eyes widened.

"Is that the report?"

"Yeah."

Liam approached and handed him the document.

"You’ll have time to read it carefully later. But first, I’d like to ask you about something else."

James took the folder.

His expression immediately changed.

He looked much more excited.

"Did you finally write down everything that happened?"

"I tried to."

James quickly flipped through the first few pages.

"This is exactly what I needed."

His eyes scanned a few lines.

"Alteration of an S-Rank dungeon... evolution to SS-Rank..."

James looked up.

"I want to read this as soon as possible."

"You can keep it."

"Thank you."

James placed the folder on his desk.

Then he looked at Liam.

"Now tell me. What do you need to ask me about?"

Liam looked at Lydia.

She took a deep breath.

"It’s a little complicated to explain."

Lydia smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"I hope we’re not taking up too much of your time."

James stood up.

"Time?"

He pointed toward the chairs in front of his desk.

"I have all the time you need."

He pulled out one of the chairs for Lydia.

"Please, have a seat."

Liam nodded.

"Thank you."

Liam walked over to the door.

He closed it.

Then he returned to his wife and James.

"I think it’d be better to start from the beginning."

◇◆◇

A few minutes later, James was sitting across from Liam and Lydia with an expression that was difficult to describe.

Surprise.

Excitement.

Curiosity.

He even seemed to be having trouble deciding which question to ask first.

Liam had just finished telling him the entire story.

From the moment they entered the dungeon.

The way the squad members had appeared in different locations.

The energy bolts.

The evolution into an SS-Rank dungeon.

The Raxan.

The red-skinned beings who had destroyed their world.

The enormous blind mole.

The orange-furred sub-boss.

The forest.

The crystal flower.

The portal.

The temporal alteration.

James had listened to everything without interrupting.

He had also quickly read through some sections of Liam’s report.

Finally, he placed the document on the desk.

"This..."

He fell silent.

Then he let out a small laugh.

"This is incredible."

Liam raised an eyebrow.

"Incredible?"

"Yes."

James picked up the folder again.

"A dungeon that evolves during a raid. Creatures from another dimension that can communicate. A temporal alteration..."

He shook his head.

"I’ve never seen anything like it."

Liam smiled.

"Neither have we."

James put the folder down.

"But I suppose that’s not what you came here to ask me about."

"No."

Liam looked at Lydia.

Then he looked back at James.

"Can you investigate what’s happening to my wife?"

James nodded.

"Of course."

He stood up from his chair.

"In fact, we can start right now."

Lydia watched him with some concern.

James walked over to one of the cabinets in the office and took out a small box.

Then he picked up a needle.

Lydia’s eyes widened slightly.

"What’s that?"

"I need a blood sample."

Lydia looked at the needle, and her face paled.

"A sample?"

"Just a small one, I promise."

James approached.

Lydia raised both hands.

"Wait."

James stopped.

Lydia looked at Liam.

Then she looked back at James.

"Just this once."

James smiled.

"All right."

"But it’s only to find out what’s happening to me and my abilities."

Lydia pointed at the needle.

"I don’t want any weird experiments."

James burst out laughing.

"Trust me."

He raised a hand.

"I’m not going to do anything that isn’t necessary."

Lydia continued looking at him suspiciously.

James sighed.

"And I don’t think what’s happening to you is related to that dungeon either."

Liam frowned slightly.

"Why?"

"Because the symptoms started inside the dungeon, but that doesn’t mean they were caused by it."

James approached again.

But before he could take Lydia’s arm, Liam extended a hand and grabbed James’s wrist.

James stopped.

Liam looked him directly in the eyes.

"Please be careful with my wife."

James’s expression changed.

For a few seconds, the two remained silent.

Finally, James smiled.

"Don’t worry."

Liam didn’t look away.

James continued.

"Being a scientist doesn’t mean I’m going to mistreat a patient."

Liam released his wrist.

"Thank you."

James nodded.

"Now then."

Lydia extended her arm.

James prepared the needle.

Lydia immediately closed her eyes.

"I don’t want to see it."

Liam took her other hand.

"Don’t worry."

James brought the needle closer.

Lydia squeezed Liam’s fingers.

"Ow!"

The needle went in, and James quickly took the sample.

"Done."

Lydia opened one eye.

"Already?"

"Already."

James removed the needle and placed the sample into one of the small analysis containers.

Then he walked over to a machine connected directly to his computer.

He inserted the sample, and the machine began to operate.

James watched the screen.

"This will take a few minutes."

Liam settled back into his chair.

"Don’t worry."

He looked at Lydia.

"We can wait."

Lydia nodded.

"Yeah."

The minutes passed slowly.

James remained in front of the computer.

Liam watched his wife.

Lydia drank some water while looking around the office.

Everything seemed normal.

Until James let out a small laugh.

"Heh..."

Liam raised his head.

"What?"

James continued staring at the screen.

"This is..."

He laughed again.

Liam frowned.

"What’s going on?"

James finally turned toward them.

"Why are you laughing?"

James smiled.

"It’s nothing bad."

Liam didn’t look convinced.

"Then explain."

James looked at Lydia first, then at Liam.

"Before I do, I want to ask you something."

"What?" Lydia asked.

"Have you noticed anything strange about Lydia?"

Liam answered immediately.

"Of course."

James raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Her powers."

Liam pointed at his wife.

"They activate at random and malfunction. That’s why we’re here."

James shook his head.

"That’s not what I mean."

"Then what?"

"Have you noticed any sudden changes in mood?"

Liam fell silent.

James continued.

"Or any other symptoms?"

He paused.

"Like, I don’t know..."

He looked at Lydia.

"Cravings?"

Lydia thought for a moment.

"Well..."

She placed a hand against her chin.

"Maybe."

Liam looked at her.

"What?"

"I’ve felt like my emotions have been a little strange."

Lydia lowered her gaze.

"And I’ve also had some cravings."

Liam immediately remembered what had happened in his office.

The coffee.

The chocolate.

The sudden craving.

But before he could say anything, a message appeared before his eyes.

[Pix: Liam, I think I’ve figured out why Lydia’s powers aren’t working properly.]

Liam’s eyes widened slightly.

’What?’

He responded using [Call].

’Pix, give me a few minutes to talk about it. I’m busy right now.’

James spoke again.

"I’ve found a few things that are out of the ordinary."

Lydia looked at him.

"What things?"

James pointed at the screen.

"There’s an increase in your blood plasma volume."

Lydia blinked.

"What does that mean?"

"There’s also an increase in your white blood cell count."

Lydia looked increasingly confused.

"I don’t understand."

James turned toward her.

"It’s normal that you don’t understand."

He pulled up a chair and sat across from them.

"Your body is showing certain changes."

Liam remained silent.

James continued.

"In a normal woman, these values could mean several things."

Lydia swallowed.

"But I’m not a normal woman..."

James smiled slightly.

"Exactly."

He paused.

"That’s why I need to analyze a few more things before I can be completely certain."

Liam looked at the screen.

Then he looked at Lydia.

She seemed confused.

James opened his mouth to explain something else.

But at that exact moment...

Another message appeared before Liam’s eyes.

[Pix: Liam, it’s important that I tell you this right now...]

Liam’s eyes widened.

James continued speaking.

"But there’s something that seems quite clear to me."

Liam looked at James.

But another system message appeared before Liam’s eyes.

[Pix: It appears that Lydia is pregnant.]

"It appears that Lydia is pregnant."

James spoke at the exact same moment Pix’s message appeared.

Liam froze completely.

Lydia’s eyes widened.

Silence filled the office.

Neither Lydia nor Liam knew how to react to the news.